"For the first time I had to make a latte for Judika. I made a very, very bad latte," Tibo says. Photo / Supplied
"For the first time I had to make a latte for Judika. I made a very, very bad latte," Tibo says. Photo / Supplied
Moviemakers call it a 'meet cute' – an amusing first encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship. Every fortnight Reset shares a real-life origin story.
Thibault (Tibo) Peniarbelle is the executive chef at Origine and Judika Ramcharand is Origine's restaurant manager. Born and raised in Montreal, Judika met Tibo, who is from Toulouse, in Auckland and the couple have a 4-year-old daughter, Celeste. At home, they speak French to each other "80 per cent of the time". "It's a mix," says Peniarbelle. "We start the sentence in French and finish in English."
Tibo says…
I came to New Zealand in 2011 for the Rugby World Cup and worked in a French restaurant called Ile de France in Newmarket. My [head] chef knew Judika and asked her to help for a few shifts. I was happy to see someone who can speak English and French. There were only French people working in the restaurant. After the staff meal, I was making the coffee. Every French person drinks long black or espresso and I asked, "who wants coffee?" For the first time I had to make a latte for Judika. I made a very, very bad latte.
I like the way she talked. She was very open, very easy-going, and funny. It was like something natural. I think I made the first move, but it wasn't very romantic. It was just for fun at first, we didn't want anything serious. She's a bit older and after a few months, she told me, "I'm not here to play anymore. I can stay or I can go to Australia. Or we take the chance and stay in New Zealand and be together." I was starting to have some serious feelings as well.
I came to New Zealand with a good friend. We lived in Anzac Ave then he left, and I moved to Ōrākei with flatmates. I didn't have a room at first, so I pitched my tent in the backyard. Then I moved with Judika into a little apartment in Vulcan Lane.
I really like Judika's sense of humour and she's very, very fun. I like her style, her look and who she is. She is confident in what she does. At Origine she is serious about work, but she can have a little joke with the customers. When you go to a restaurant and you have a great waiter, you want to be friends with the waiter. That's how you feel with Judika. Everyone wants to be her friend, so I'm lucky to be her partner.
Home is home and work is work. I call her Judika at work, but at home it's "Babe" or something like that. We cook 50-50 at home, but sometimes Judika does a bit more. She can cook really, really well.
I came to New Zealand in 2010. I was turning 30 and my job was "meh". A friend was going to New Zealand and asked if I wanted to come. I put my stuff in storage and thought I'd be back in seven to 10 months. I'm still paying for storage 12 years on. I just came with the intention of throwing caution to the wind before life got serious.
I studied fashion design, but I love hospo. I'm all about good banter. We all want to please people and it makes you feel good to do that. I like the pace. I like the camaraderie and the teamwork.
Tibo Peniarbelle and Judika Ramcharand in 2012. Photo / Supplied.
When Tibo asked for my coffee order he turned around and had this big smile on his face. I remember thinking, "that's a lot of teeth for that mouth". It was like this big, dumb grin when I asked for the latte. Now in retrospect, I know he had no idea what he was doing.
I thought he was cute, but I didn't think anything serious. Later that night, after the Tonga and France rugby game, we were all going to meet friends in the Viaduct and I remember thinking, "Who is this dingdong?" He put his number on a stack of restaurant cards and was like, "hey", to these chicks. I thought "who is this dude?"
He almost started a fight at Danny Doolans. I was talking to a lovely British guy and then Tibo just came out of nowhere for a kiss. And I was like, "whoa", and the British guy asked, "do you know this guy?" I guess Tibo had liquid courage, but very bad timing. I kept him at bay for a good three weeks. He was just red-flag city.
We were spending more time together and I was aware I had feelings. I told him how I felt, and Tibo said, "no, I just want to party and have fun. And I want to see other people." And I said, "okay, that's great. Tomorrow, I'm leaving. Good luck with your working holiday."
Then there was silence. He said, "so you don't want to see me again?" I said "no, not if it's just for fun". Then he said, "maybe we can have lunch tomorrow". We went to La Fourchette because he was still living on Anzac Ave in a dirty, squalid apartment.
When he first moved to Ōrākei I was living in a proper ladies' flat in Freeman's Bay. Tibo was over a lot. There were questions about the electric bill and water. I wondered if he was coming over because he was sleeping in a tent. Was I dating a homeless person? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I love that Tibo doesn't take life too seriously. He lives life through rose-coloured glasses. I'm very pessimistic. Do you know The Lego Movie song, Everything is Awesome? He's just always like that. I find it endearing, sometimes annoying.
He's super-messy and doesn't put stuff away and the laundry never makes it into the laundry basket, but I see him with Celeste and he's an amazing father.
I'm the clean, organised person. I feel like our differences really balance each other out. Sometimes I'll stress about something, and Tibo is relaxed. He is this funny, easy-going dude outside of work, but at work I really am so proud of him and admire him.
